Focus 2050 Study - The San Diego Foundation

SE A LEVELWhat we experience in Mission Beachby 2050 would be typical of low-lyingbeach flooding throughout San DiegoCounty. High tides alone (purple) are expectedto flood parts of the sandy beach andbayside streets. Additional “run-up” fromcommon high surf events (blue) floods themajority of the sandy beach, streets andparts of Mission Beach Park. Rare high surfevents (green) are expected to breach theseawall and flood streets and sidewalks.Very rare high surf events (red) flood thesandy beach, surface streets and heavilyused boardwalk in Mission Beach.W H A T C A N W E D O N O W ?In the coming decades, sea level willrise more than twice as fast as duringthe last century. The higher projection of18 inches assumes that global greenhouse gasemissions continue to increase. The lowerprojection assumes we are successful inreducing global emissions.• Residents, business, industry, and public agencies may considerrelocating threatened structures.• Public and private hazard insurance will need to accommodateincreased threats to coastal structures.• Coastal managers can build natural buffers to protect our coastlineand let beaches move inland over time.• Local governments can incorporate expected sea level rise intocommunity planning and structural design requirements to protectcoastal property and infrastructure in flood hazard zones.• In some cases, communities may need to reduce or stop coastaldevelopment altogether.SAN DIEGO'S CHANGING CLIMATE: A REGIONAL WAKE-UP CALL 7